During these past several weeks, we’ve kept a close eye on the so-called Sony Xperia Z1 Mini, for the sole reason that the handset promises a rather small display (at least when compared with the current standards on the Android market), yet the device was rumored to pack flagship-worthy hardware specifications. That’s something that we don’t usually see nowadays (at least not on the Android market), as more often than not, the screen size usually gets bigger as the internal hardware specs get better.

In any case, the Xperia Z1 Mini / Z1 f SO-02F has been unveiled today in Japan, and just as the leaks and rumors have previously suggested, the handset in question is indeed a beast. In fact, it appears that the Z1 Mini might actually be more powerful than its larger sibling – the Xperia Z1. Join us below for more details.

Sony Xperia Z1 Mini / Z1 f SO-02F - Benchmark Scores

While the Xperia Z1 Mini has been barely announced in Japan, we’ve managed to find out just how powerful this handset is. We should remind you that the Z1 Mini packs a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of storage expandable by up to 64 GB. The gadget is being powered by a 2,300 mAh battery and it arrives with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. In the media department, the Z1 Mini delivers the same 20.7 MP camera as the Xperia Z1.

In other words, both gadgets deliver similar hardware specs, so you’d think that they would perform identical as well. That, however, might not be the case. Check out the video below for an early AnTuTu test, and join us below for details.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtHqOWFrcmc

As shown in the video above, the Xperia Z1 Mini scores 34,376 points in AnTuTu. In our tests, the fully-sized Xperia Z1 scored roughly 30,000 points in the same benchmark, so the smaller device actually seems to be more powerful.

You may be wondering how this is possible, and the answer might be the discrepancy between the two displays. While the Xperia Z1 delivers a 5 inch 1080p screen, the Xperia Z1 f SO-02F features a 4.3 inch panel, with a resolution of 1280 x 720. Since the CPU is virtually the same on both handsets, the chipset has a less difficult time crunching a lower amount of pixels on the smaller device, thus, it performs better.

In any case, that’s all for now, so feel free to share your thoughts below. Oh and, don’t forget to check out the hands-on video below